“First we have to finish bringing everything into this world. I think we can translocate the serpent as soon as that’s done, so long as we’re all prepared for it.”
“Mmm-hmm. Is it going to eat Colin as soon as it’s solid?” The serpent hadn’t stopped watching the young man, who was now sitting against a tree, as entranced with the monster as it was with him.
“I don’t think so.”
I puffed out my cheeks. I liked a world of absolutes, with less of this wishy-washy thinking stuff going on. On the other hand, I didn’t see a range of stunningly good choices. “Yeah, well, you get to explain it to Garth if his brother gets eaten.”
Garth elbowed me, his smile crooked with concern. “We’re not going to let it eat him,” I promised.
“I know.”
“Joanne, will you help us?” Faye had left Melinda’s side and was standing on the far end of the yard. Marcia, the Elder and Duane had already taken up points opposite her, and the Youth was on his way to a fifth. Even I could figure this one out.
“Yeah, but what do I do?”
“Make the circle around us. With luck we’ll fit the whole serpent into the pentagram—”
I saw the light. “And it’ll be trapped in there when it becomes corporeal. It shouldn’t be able to eat Colin, right? We should be able to hold it.”
The serpent swayed its head, looking away from Colin for the first time to eye me with its black gaze. I decided I liked the silver better, although my eyes were readjusting to the normal color spectrum. “Shh,” I said to the serpent. “Never mind us. Just go on staring at Colin.”
“Gee, thanks,” Colin muttered, but kept grinning. I wasn’t sure I could blame him. If you had to die, being gobbled up by a gigantic serpent really did seem like a less dismal way to go than a slow cancer. The serpent hissed, noisy enough even without a solid form to make hairs on my arms stand up. Then it turned its gaze back to Colin, which didn’t exactly make me feel better, even if it got me out of the spotlight. I scooted over to where Marcia stood and looked around the garden uncertainly.
“This isn’t going to be the roundest circle ever,” I warned.
“It’s lopsided,” she agreed. “It’s all right. It’s more for us than anything else. Protection and familiarity. If we trust in it, it will do what we need it to do.”
“Okay. I’ve never done this. What do I do?” This was a different way to build the pentagram than I’d seen the night before, but for all I knew, there were a hundred ways to do it.
“Touch each of our shoulders as you pass, binding us to the Goddess and the God. Invoke their protection and their grace.” Marcia’s mouth quirked. “And try not to look too much like you think we’re all idiots while you’re doing it.”
I actually blushed, hoping it wasn’t visible through my new tan. “I don’t think you’re idiots,” I mumbled. Crazy. I thought they were crazy. It was a small but important difference. Also, they were the kind of crazy that clearly packed a punch, so I wasn’t going to sneeze at them. Or mention it out loud, for that matter. I can, on occasion, be taught.
Nevertheless, I felt completely ridiculous walking around the five points and muttering thanks and prayers and invocations to a pair of deities I wasn’t at all sure were listening. My skepticism didn’t seem to thwart the power lines that shot up between the other five coven members. For an instant, they were brilliant gold, the color of the sunset. Then my vision went inside-out again, and they fell into the familiar silver lines I’d seen the night before. I sighed and pressed my fingers over my eyes, hoping my vision would be all right again when I stopped. It wasn’t. Tomorrow I’d go see my eye doctor.
The others had taken up their places around the circle, leaving the serpent in the center. Only Colin was outside of it, still leaning against his tree, the serpent watching him. Mel made up the thirteenth of the coven, with Faye on one side of her and me on the other, as I filled in the last obviously empty space in the circle.
Another jolt of power stung through me as I took my place. It was brighter and more distinct than the gold/silver protective barriers that had gone up around the pentagram. It felt hard and pure and white: Virissong.
Joanne, he said fondly, inside my skull. I flinched from the belly out, like somebody’d poked me. “What?”
Mel and Faye and Duane, on my other side, all looked at me. “Um.” God, I was so clever I could hardly stand myself. “You guys didn’t hear that, did you?”
Faye’s eyes brightened. “He speaks to you again?” She had the note of zealotry in her voice again, making me hunch my shoulders against it. “What does he say?”
We’ll be together soon, Virissong said, sounding pleased. You should be able to almost see me now. You’ve done well, Joanne. I owe you a great debt of gratitude.
“See you?” I asked hoarsely. By and large, all I could see was the tremendous silver serpent, and four or five coven members all peering at me with interest. Beyond them, Colin gazed up at the serpent, the spirit snake around his shoulders a physical burden I could nearly see. It seemed to be settling farther into Colin, as if its bulk were adding to his. He looked healthier and stronger. I threw a thought of thanks to the spirits again, shaking my head at the same time. “I don’t see—”
My eyes snapped back to Colin and the snake. “Virissong?”
The spirit snake lifted its head and flicked its tongue at me. Inside my head, Virissong chortled, pleased. I’ve lent him my strength, as you asked. In exchange, he’ll lend me his body.
“But I thought—!” I cut myself off with a strangled sound as Virissong chuckled in my mind again.
That I would return to my body? Three thousand years dead, Joanne? I think “ick” would be the technical term. Colin and I are agreed on this, he said more flatly. This is the price of sacrifice.
I crossed my eyes, completely distracted and trying to see inside my own head. “‘Ick is the technical term’? Are you sure you’re three thousand years old?” My heart was pounding too hard, pushing up lumps of nausea and worry from my stomach. I was sweating and cold and too hot all at once, my hands clenched in fists. Virissong was right, I knew he was right: there had to be an exchange, a price of sacrifice. My vision was tunneling down, getting narrower, and breathing was getting harder. It wasn’t the pain of a sword through my lungs. It was a little more like the desert heat pressing down on my chest. I swallowed and shook my head. “Colin?” My voice went up a register and broke. “Are you really okay with this?”
He didn’t look away from the serpent swaying overhead. “It’s fine, Amazon. It’s cool. I’m fine. Go ahead and finish this up so we can all get out of here.” He flashed me a smile without really looking my way. “I’m supposed to be back at the hospital by nine,” he reminded me.
Beneath the conversation with Colin, Virissong smiled, the expression warming the voice inside my mind.I am, yes, thousands of years old. But I’ve always had—how would you say it. Avatars? In the Middle World. Men and women who do my will and who have helped keep me up on the changes in language. And Colin, he promised, soothingly, will not go back to the hospital tonight, or ever again. My strength will be his for eternity.
“Who?” I asked, bewildered. “Who’s your avatar? Colin?” Underneath that, the sarcastic voice in my head said, eternity’s a very long time, but Virissong didn’t respond. Instead I found my head turning to the left, my tunneled vision blocking out everyone except Faye, with her bright puppy eyes and smile.
Colin is the host, Virissong caroled in my head. I sent her the dream of you, and she brought you here so we can rebuild the world, Joanne Walker. There is so much that we can do!